The link between green purchasing decisions and measures of environmental consciousness

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in environmental consciousness worldwide. One recent survey found that 82 percent of British citizens rated the environment as an immediate and urgent problem (Dembkowski and Hanmer-Lloyd, 1994), while another study established that 69 percent of the general public believe that pollution and other environmental damage are impacting on their everyday life (Worcester, 1993). The increase in environmental consciousness has had a profound effect on consumer behaviour, with the green product market expanding at a remarkable rate. For example, a Mintel survey concluded that 27 percent of British adults were prepared to pay up to 25 percent more for green products (Prothero, 1990) and, in the USA, Green Market Alert estimated a market growth rate for green products of 10.4 percent in 1993 to $121.5 billion, and have projected that this will reach $154 billion by 1997 (Lawrence, 1993).